The Olojudo of Ido Kingdom in Ido-Osi Local Government Area of Ekiti State, Oba Ayorinde Ilori-Faboro, in this interview, speaks on growing up, the challenges he faced before ascending the throne, how he is administering the town, the 2022 edition of Ajodun Ido, what Governor Biodun Oyebanji should do to make Ekiti prosperous under him and constitutional role for monarchs in Nigeria among other issues. Excerpts:
Ido is an ancient town and among historical towns in Yoruba land. What exactly can you tell us about the significance of the town, especially in relation to Kiriji War?
Ido became very prominent during the war. When the war started, Ekiti people didn’t have a confederate army, it was a matter of the 16 Obas in Ekiti contributing warriors to the war effort but, initially, the Ibadan people were well organised and appeared to be overwhelming us. This made the people to start looking for professional warriors and that’s when the Olojudo on the throne at that time, Olayisade 1, invited my great-grandfather, Faboro, who was a professional warrior in Ilorin, to come and defend his fatherland. When he (Faboro) went to the war front, Ajero, Oore and Olojudo followed him, and his feat and prowess at the war front made Ido to gain prominence. That was how Ido became Ido-Faboro and our kingdom, Ido-Ekiti, became very popular and very significant, among the comity of towns in Yoruba land. Ido is an ancient town. The first Oba came from Ile Ife, precisely Ido Ife, settled down, united all the villages around and gave the name Ido to this place. So, he brought the villages under Ido from Ifaki, Usi, Ilogbo, Orin, Aaye, Ora, Ifishin and Ipole together under the kingship of Olojudo. That’s how Ido became one of the prominent 16 kingdoms in Ekiti and, because of the contribution of Ido warriors under Faboro to Kiriji War, Ekiti came together to establish a secondary school, Ekiti Parapo College, here. And the first General Hospital in Ekiti, which later became Federal Teaching Hospital, was also cited here in recognition of Ido’s contribution to the emancipation of Ekiti land.
How has the town taken advantage of this historical significance to advance its cause?
We have done well in the past. In 1954, we had a prominent politician, Papa S. K. Familoni, who was Governor Michael Adekunle Ajasin’s teacher. The respect they had for him made Ido to make waves and, when they established Ekiti Parapo College, Chief Ade Akomolafe, who passed on last year at the age of 105, was the first graduate from this community and, being his hometown, he was appointed as the first Principal of the college. We also had Chief J.M Akinola, a very brilliant individual and a Christ’s School product who later became the first Clerk of the House of Assembly in the old Western Region. When that crop of leaders became less prominent, recognition of Ido started receding. I think because of domestic politics, there was a struggle for the obaship of the town which started in 1915, Faboro’s son was enthroned here but some people went to the Oyinbo (colonialists) people at that time to say Adewa was not fit to be on the throne. On the strength of this, the colonialists removed Adewa and the same thing happened in 1939. Most of the aggrieved people at that time consequently withdrew their love for the town and that diminished the position of Ido and then, when the last Oba passed on, there was interregnum for nine years because of prolonged infighting, which really damaged the town and its goodwill. You know we are in a state where people hustle and run around to acquire recognition and attract development and, if you don’t have anybody doing this for you, it will limit your presence. Ido had nobody to run around for it and it affected us. However, with my emergence, I made it a point of duty to unite of our sons and daughters and bring them back home together. We have started to make Ido prominent again.
What was growing up like?
I didn’t grow up here. I was born in Ijero at a time my father was working for the Ministry of Agric before he was transferred to Ikole. Later in 1962, my father was transferred to Ado, so I went to school at Odo-Ado and there was an interval because he was transferred to Oyo and that affected me because I was working at Fashola Poultry Development Centre and I was in the bush. I had to stay with my father, running around and then my father was transferred to Akure where I finished primary school. In 1968, my father retired; that was how I came to Ido for the first time. In 1970, I entered secondary school and, in 1974, I travelled abroad. I was coming home at intervals but not many people knew me here, I had very few friends outside of my immediate family. But when the Olojudo stool became vacant and people started to mention my name, I was impressed that they didn’t know me yet they had so much love for me. This month marks my 13th year on the throne. I have studied the town, I know Ido fairly well. Kabiyesi doesn’t go out and there are still places I don’t know but I know a lot of people and this makes my administration to be effective.
So, I am a typical Ekiti man. I grew up in Ikole, Ado, Akure; my mother was from Ilupeju. So, I won’t say I grew up in Ido. I know Ado more than Ido. I attended Christ’s School, Ado-Ekiti where I spent most of my formative years.
Did it ever occur to you while growing up that you would one day become a king?
I started having the feeling at age 35 and the feeling was very strong that I would end up in Ekiti. I had that intuition. I would say God started preparing my way here.
Before assuming the throne of your forefathers, you were a seaman, making money and now you are here overseeing this kingdom. How have you been coping?
I wasn’t a seaman when I became kabiyesi, I was even better than a seaman. I retired in January 1992 after spending about 17 years. I spent all my youthful days at sea, I was a Master Mariner. Then I went into the oil industry. I worked for a British company called OIR in Rivers State, we were working in Shell terminal in Bonny and I was working as an expatriate and being paid in dollars.
Imagine someone collecting $20,000 as salary per month and now collecting N150, 000 monthly as king, it was a serious drop for me. But, that didn’t stop me, with the experience I went through. God assured me that I should go and do His work and He would look after me. Life is not about money alone, life is not about bread and butter alone, people put me here and they look up to me for direction and leadership; this, to me, is more than silver and gold. This position has brought me from obscurity to limelight and the joy of seeing my people rallying round me for the development of our community is great.
Tell us the challenges you faced before ascending the throne and how you surmounted them?
There were very enormous. The number one challenge was spiritual pressure, financial problem because I told you that people didn’t know me. It was like my opponents, the people who were here before thought that the crown belonged to them alone, they didn’t know that other families were entitled to it. Though we are from the same stock, they thought that we did not exist. The former kabiyesi reigned for 61 years, all his children were born here; they thought the palace belonged to them. My wife also disagreed with me, especially concerning the remuneration but I assured her that everything would be okay. I went through hell, the governor of Ekiti then, Mr Ayo Fayose, was supporting my opponents and he used all the paraphernalia of office to frustrate my ascension but God is good.
How has it been, being the Olojudo?
I thank God. I would say the first five, six years, I was still very sad. As of the time I became kabiyesi, the town was dead, you couldn’t even get anything cold to drink here, we had to drive to Mr Biggs in Ado-Ekiti to get cold drinks because there was no power supply and my wife couldn’t cope easily, she is from Delta and my children, bringing them here was challenging because they were not used to living like this before. I went through hell. The palace was not like this, it was thick bush with all kinds of reptiles but we built it within a year and moved into the palace in December 2015. From 2009 to 2015, I was operating as king from my private house. We are still in the process, it’s not where I want it to be yet but my prayer is that God should take me to half of where I was before; we are still in the process of establishing ourselves with good sources of income.
What would say are your exciting moments in the town?
We celebrate Ido Day (Ajodun Ido) every last week of November. We used to do it in October but have now changed it to November to commemorate my coronation anniversary. We have shifted it to last week in November. Ido Day is a source of excitement, when sons and daughters of our great kingdom gather here and enjoy ourselves. God has blessed me with so many beautiful sons and daughters who make life worth the while. This is when we have Prophet Olu Alo coming home because he is from this town. He always holds revival here to pray for us, the town would be bubbling, so many activities and parties. It’s just like a carnival.
What are the projects that have come into town since you ascended the throne and which one are you lacking?
Like the palace we just built, I built it with the help of my people. We built the Magistrate Court and there are some other projects that people are donating to us. We are also looking towards building a Civic Center; we have done a lot of things. We have scholarships for indigent students. Aare Afe Babalola also did well for us when he brought his medical students to do their practical in the Federal Medical Center here and, in the process, it became a Teaching Hospital. The current Chief Medical Director, Professor Kunle Ajayi, is a very brilliant person, the place is peaceful now, a complete departure from the crisis-ridden past. That hospital alone has about 100 consultants; it gives me a lot of joy. Even if we don’t have public water, we have boreholes. The roads that pass through Ido are very solid. Electricity is still a challenge but we have solar energy. If you come here at night, you would think you are in London.
Ajodun Ido is approaching. What are your expectations and who are the people you are expecting?
It is the people of Ido that would celebrate the Day. So, our sons and daughters are coming home. Those abroad, especially US and United Kingdom, may not come home but we would see their hands. Our friends would also come. Normally when we are doing Ajodun Ido, we always have targets. We have a new governor, he is home grown, ‘Ekiti Boy’. I expect him to be here for the occasion and, even if he doesn’t come here, I am sure he would send people. I am not forcing people to come, we know the governor is busy and, by the grace of God, our son, Cyril Fasuyi, is going to be the next Senator for Ekiti North. We have another one, Tunde Ajayi, who is going to the House of Reps. Hopefully, when they are there, they would bring their friends, we would lift ourselves up.
What new projects are you envisaging for Ido?
We are building a Civic Centre. A son of the land is also building a hall, many halls and hotels are springing up. Our son, Otunba Toyin Akomolafe, is also building a magnificent hall for the Anglican Church. When I became kabiyesi, a plot of land was selling for N15, 000, N20, 000 but now, if you want to buy a plot of land, you would have about a million naira. And on the outskirts, the price is about N300, 000 to N400, 000. People are coming from outside to uplift us.
How secured is Ido-Ekiti?
The police here have been excellent and all the Obas under my leadership have hunters who we are paying from our own pockets. Unfortunately, two of the kidnappers arrested were from this town. They are in prison now. Ever since their arrest, crime has reduced considerably here.
Opinions are divided over constitutional roles for traditional rulers like what we had in the First Republic. Where do you stand?
You see, in the First Republic, Obas were very few. In this kingdom, we had Olojudo. In Ado Kingdom, we had the Ewi. In Ikole, we had Elekole. We had Alara in Aramoko and Oore in Moba but now everybody is important. Presently you even have hunters that have been made kabiyesi. Once you know the governor, you are elevated. The problem would be who will the government talk to? Would they still recognize the original owners of the land? You cannot leave the Olojudo and be talking to Olufaki or Olusi, there would be wahala because the kingdom belongs to Olojudo. Ido Kingdom owns Ifaki, Aaye, Usi, Ilogbo. But if the Olufaki is a friend to the governor, he would be talking to the governor. Politicians have been very terrible when it comes to dealing with traditional rulers but there are individuals who rise to the position of governor, who are smart, who know what to do and respect history. Your father paid tribute to my father and now you want to claim equality with me. Now, we have about 180 Obas in Ekiti. You cannot leave Ewi and be talking to Alawe and the immediate past governor made Alawe of Ilawe-Ekiti the Chairman of the State Traditional Council. How can you make someone who is under me my boss? So, we have problems with politicians. If we have people we can trust in positions of authority, they will do what is right.
What message do you have for the new governor?
Like I said, the governor was one of the people who fought for the creation Ekiti State. He was a young man at that time and he was working with the kabiyesis at that time, Ewi, Alaaye, Alara, so, he knew how Ekiti was put together and, apart from that, we have a lot of confidence and hope in his ability to regain some of the good things that the state has lost in the past. So, being an intelligent person, I believe Ekiti would prosper under him.